When a much-touted investors’ summit was unceremoniously moved from Kolkata to Agra recently, the rumblings were far more ominous than what West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would like to believe. Thanks to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief’s alliance with UPA II, West Bengal had been enjoying several benefits, much of which Banerjee would like to dismiss as her right. However, it can hardly be denied that with Didi exiting the Union government, its reverberations will be felt in the state soon enough. And it’s not just the 16 railway factories, collaborations with Public Sector Companies (PSUs) and the expansion of the metro railway; all worth a whopping Rs 75,000 crore. Several of Banerjee’s pet initiatives which frequently feature in her populist speeches could face a roadblock now that she doesn’t have the backing of the UPA.
For instance, Didi’s sop for the Muslim community to give governmental recognition to around 10,000 madrassas in West Bengal lies in jeopardy. This recognition can be doled out only with the Centre’s help and Banerjee’s political divorce will hardly go in her favour. The only states that are centrally-aided are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Tripura. Sops for the minority community are key to TMC’s preparation for the upcoming Panchayat polls. “Every initiative proposed by the state government stands to suffer. For example, even the funds allocated for the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM-II) could see a steep drop,” said a senior TMC leader.
The state government has also been enjoying successive increases in plan outlay from the Centre especially in terms of grants-in-aid and higher borrowing capacity for the state. West Bengal received a higher plan outlay for 2012-’13 with Rs 25,910 crore as against Rs 22,214 crore in the previous fiscal. This was an almost 16 per cent increase in the allocation compared to last year. In 2011-’12, the Mamata Banerjee government received 24 per cent more allocation than 2010-‘11’s outlay of Rs 17,985 crore. Even while neighbouring Tripura cried foul, the Centre approved a bailout package to the tune of Rs 21, 614 crore which included grant-in-aid of Rs 9,249 crore. Even the state’s market borrowing was upped by Rs 2,706 crore from Rs 17,828 crore. Didi complained that she received only Rs1,500 crore of the promised grant-in-aid last year and government sources seem even more sceptical about the current financial year.
“Last year we didn’t receive much of the funds even though the TMC was in power. Now with the party out of the UPA, we can’t be sure about how much help we’ll receive from the Centre,” said a government official. The feisty street-fighter may predict snap Lok Sabha polls post-Budget next year, but West Bengal’s chances of culling favours with the Centre look bleaker with every passing month that the UPA II survives.